I was watching documentaries in Youtube about companies who used to rule the world but are now gone.

1. Kodak
2. Sun Microsystems
3. Lotus Software
4. Ashton-Tate
5. WordPerfect
6. Novell
7. Pan Am

Now I'm wondering if Boeing will be included in the list.

Brings this quote to mind: "Deal with reality before reality deals with you."

Will never happen, Boeing to too important to US arms and billion dollar sales to the world, they will get it together sooner than not.

1 hour ago, starstream707 said:

Will never happen, Boeing to too important to US arms and billion dollar sales to the world, they will get it together sooner than not.

They said the same about Kodak, too big to fail, it was unimaginable.

Kodak was a major goverment contractor, millitary contractor, key player in the second world war and the cold war, and in every home in America, and they were there when the first man walked on the moon. People don't think about how big they were anymore because it fell, but when I hear people say that it could never happen to Boeing, you really don't understand the Kodak story enough and should research more.

Absolutely Boeing could fail too and it would be very ugly, never think otherwise

4 hours ago, bofhlusr said:

Brings this quote to mind: "Deal with reality before reality deals with you."

I prefer

By failing to prepare you are preparing to fail.
-Benjamin Franklin

But that's just me, the 'founding fathers' had a lot of great quotes

4 hours ago, bofhlusr said:

Now I'm wondering if Boeing will be included in the list.

I doubt they will completely fail, but they have definitely fallen a long way.

So far their only real competition is Airbus, but they had better hope that China doesn't get in the game in a big way one day.  Moreover, without massive U.S. govt. contracts they'd be in real trouble.

There are several reasons why Boeing hasn't been doing well, among which are corporate greed and focus on profits, incompetent company executives, greedy workers who are threatening to strike again, and bad hiring practices(not hiring based solely on merit).

Dave

I hope not. Last week I bought a few (very few) shares of BA on the idea they will get their sierra together in the future. More for entertainment then an investment. Like some folks enjoy a friendly game of penny poker.🤣  

I'm beginning to think share holder value isn't all it's cracked up to be.

10 hours ago, Matthew Kane said:

I prefer

By failing to prepare you are preparing to fail.
-Benjamin Franklin

But that's just me, the 'founding fathers' had a lot of great quotes

Some business decisions happen on purpose.

Boeing is currently hemorrhaging money and has been since 2019 (737 Max crashes and groundings).  The current strike is accelerating their financial decline and Boeing is headed towards bankruptcy.  Fear not, I'm sure the government will step in and fully fund Boeing.  It's just money, the government has proven that it will print as much of it as they need.

Edited October 24, 20241 yr by stans

Don’t worry Americans still know how to build world class airliners, at the Airbus Alabama Manufacturing Facility, and they also make world class cars too, at the Mercedes-Benz Alabama Factory. What do you know the state that built the Apollo Rockets are still leading the way with Aircraft and Cars too. 

ROLL TIDE 😀

Edited October 24, 20241 yr by Matthew Kane

16 hours ago, dave2013 said:

There are several reasons why Boeing hasn't been doing well, among which are corporate greed and focus on profits, incompetent company executives, greedy workers who are threatening to strike again, and bad hiring practices(not hiring based solely on merit

This is the common theme now in almost everything in the world.

Remember when companies used to exist to make a product and make it well, if they did that then profits naturally followed. Nowadays the pursuit of profit is the primary purpose and the product they make is almost an afterthought.

I’m now taking pride in trying to only buy things from companies that do things well without cost cutting in search of profit and make things nearer to home than mass produced elsewhere in a sweat shop. It’s costing me a fortune in comparison but it’s money well spent.

I recently bought a hand made leather belt from a stall at a country show, made to my exact size by the guy while I waited. It’s lovely.

Anyway as someone who straps a newer model Boeing to my back every week I must admit to not feeling as confident in it as  I was with my trusty old 747, designed and built in a different era. 

Once a company gets their iron triangle fingers grasped into the government, they normally gain a super power unless another iron triangle company can ingest them. Look at what happened to McDonnell Douglas. Boeing is one of the last standing of American aviation manufacturer giants and has successfully grasped that iron triangle. I mean, Lockheed gave up on the commercial side back in 83 and is still pushing in the military space. From the military side, there is concern when the developer and supporter of your assets run into trouble. You don't want your effectiveness decimated a company's ruin or a premature contract change.

Just like the American auto industry, the government will bail out those companies that they have interest in. Last fiscal year, they collected 4.92 trillion in taxes. Of that, 916 billion was the military budget. That's greater than the next 8 countries' military budgets combined. So, yes, any company can fail. But a company like Boeing will get a lot of government help before that would happen. 

They were discussing Boeing on Fox Business a while ago and are quite bullish. They have a half trillion in back orders, and the union is being drained of assets by the strike. They can outlast the strikers while down sizing the labor force. These people could go from the picket line to the unemployment line and I don’t say that in a mean way. Been there and got the T shirt. (Remember PATCO😔). It’s not impossible to replace highly trained workers. 
Bottom line is Boeing has a lot going for them in spite of all the shock drama from the media who run to fires like flies to, well you know. 
There only competition Airbus (  love simming  that A320) has not been without issues either. 

40 minutes ago, Patco Lch said:

These people could go from the picket line to the unemployment line and I don’t say that in a mean way.

Right! It's one thing when the company is making revenue hand over fist and you strike to get a cut. But, when the company is having a quality issue and losing funds, a strike can sink the ship. If the ship is already listing, might not want to add more holes or else you will be swimming.

21 hours ago, Matthew Kane said:

They said the same about Kodak, too big to fail, it was unimaginable.

Kodak was a major goverment contractor, millitary contractor, key player in the second world war and the cold war, and in every home in America, and they were there when the first man walked on the moon. People don't think about how big they were anymore because it fell, but when I hear people say that it could never happen to Boeing, you really don't understand the Kodak story enough and should research more.

Absolutely Boeing could fail too and it would be very ugly, never think otherwise

Still say never going to happen, the government will bail them out, they are too important for national security. Imagine not being able to produce airplanes in WWIII scenario or getting on airbus orders behind France and anyone else there before us. Not Gonna Happen, ever!

Kodak, sure, when was the last time you needed a Kodak camera to pull out of your pocket and snap a pic? I mean technology put them out to pasture.